For the last days the Western media did their best to ignore Russian president’s speech at the Valdai Club gathering in Sochi or to twist its meaning. Regardless of what you think or don’t think of Putin this is probably the most important political speech since Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech of March 5, 1946.

In this speech, Putin abruptly changed the rules of the game. Previously, the game of international politics was played as follows: politicians made public pronouncements, for the sake of maintaining a pleasant fiction of national sovereignty, but they were strictly for show and had nothing to do with the substance of international politics; in the meantime, they engaged in secret back-room negotiations, in which the actual deals were hammered out. Previously, Putin tried to play this game, expecting only that Russia be treated as an equal. But these hopes have been dashed, and at this conference he declared the game to be over, explicitly violating Western taboo by speaking directly to the people over the heads of elite clans and political leaders.

A Russian blogger summarized the most salient points from Putin speech as follows:

1. Russia will no longer play games and engage in back-room negotiations over trifles. But Russia is prepared for serious conversations and agreements, if these are conducive to collective security, are based on fairness and take into account the interests of each side.

2. All systems of global collective security now lie in ruins. There are no longer any international security guarantees at all. And the entity that destroyed them has a name: The United States of America.

3. The constructors of the New World Order have failed, having built a sand castle. Whether or not a new world order of any sort is to be built is not just Russia’s decision, but it is a decision that will not be made without Russia.

4. Russia favors a conservative approach to introducing innovations into the social order, but is not opposed to investigating and discussing such innovations, to see if introducing any of them might be justified.

5. Russia has no intention of going fishing in the murky waters created by America’s ever-expanding “empire of chaos,” and has no interest in building a new empire of her own (this is unnecessary; Russia’s challenges lie in developing her already vast territory). Neither is Russia willing to act as a savior of the world, as she had in the past.

6. Russia will not attempt to reformat the world in her own image, but neither will she allow anyone to reformat her in their image. Russia will not close herself off from the world, but anyone who tries to close her off from the world will be sure to reap a whirlwind.

7. Russia does not wish for the chaos to spread, does not want war, and has no intention of starting one. However, today Russia sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable, is prepared for it, and is continuing to prepare for it. Russia does not war—nor does she fear it.

8. Russia does not intend to take an active role in thwarting those who are still attempting to construct their New World Order—until their efforts start to impinge on Russia’s key interests. Russia would prefer to stand by and watch them give themselves as many lumps as their poor heads can take. But those who manage to drag Russia into this process, through disregard for her interests, will be taught the true meaning of pain.

9. In her external, and, even more so, internal politics, Russia’s power will rely not on the elites and their back-room dealing, but on the will of the people.

To these nine points I would like to add a tenth:

10. There is still a chance to construct a new world order that will avoid a world war. This new world order must of necessity include the United States—but can only do so on the same terms as everyone else: subject to international law and international agreements; refraining from all unilateral action; in full respect of the sovereignty of other nations.

To sum it all up: play-time is over. Children, put away your toys. Now is the time for the adults to make decisions. Russia is ready for this; is the world?

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2 Comments For This Post

I hope that the west and, most specifically the USA, will take Putin seriously. The game has been going on too long and because of the double standards of US and their allies, the world is under threat. Putin must be serious about his point no 7. He has correctly identified that he sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable. The whole world sees that and the whole world is scared. The US must be stopped and the hopes of the world are with Russia, China, Iran and the Central Asian countries (the stans)that make up the SCO. Enough of this terrorism game that has been opened up by the west.
Please Mr. Putin, stand by your words. Save Syria, save the Muslims from the mass slaughtering.

I do not think the current US Government is too interested
in Geopolitics or assuming a leadership role in world affairs.

I think we have bounced the ball over to Putin’s court.
Putin might be playing the game by himself.
Did you ever give a party and nobody came?

United States Waning Geopolitical Power.

After the cold world culminated and the United States proclaimed itself the victor, the economic and military power of the US was now unchallenged.

The US pushed forward with its’ agenda and assumed the stance of a uni-polar
geopolitical power for the 21st century.

All nation states monitored America’s activities. Trying to wiggle themselves into an advantageous position by siding up with the Big Dog.

A few years passed — and like a professional athlete that spent too much time reading his newspaper clippings — the US developed a demeanor riddled with hubris, pomposity, and hauteur – the US forgot the effort and sacrifice it takes to maintain status as a global leader— and they began to get soft in mind and body and dropped their guard.

The US elected a leadership with a mindset that does not advocate America occupying a dominant position in world affairs.
America turned its’ priorities to social re-ordering in alignment with ethnic and ideological beliefs that have been double-speak labeled as political correctness.
Dealing with real world problems is an irritant that takes away from domestic objectives.

US corporations are getting nervous and trying to relocate their headquarters out of the United States (Inversion). New legislation was passed to block them from leaving.

High wealth individuals are giving up their US citizenship and leaving the US. New tax laws were created as obstacles to them becoming expats.

The president of the US, by way of implementation of executive actions/orders,has increased “legal” unilateral powers associated with his position. Congressional legislative procedures/powers have been circumvented.

The rapidly changing demographics in America will entirely change the future political arena.
If the citizens vote strictly along the color line, then the US will gravitate to one gigantic political party with a president that will have an enormous amount of power.
Blanket amnesty, open borders, injection of legal and illegal immigrants/refugees into American society will accelerate the shift to unchecked power.

The current administration’s creation of “behavioral insight teams”, and implementing them strategically to formulate public opinion, broadcasts overtones of Hegelian Dialectics.

Those foreign sovereign states that want a shot at the world title, are taking detailed notes and are encouraged by these events.

They realized that to take down America you have to go after its’ economic base.
The two biggest economic, geopolitical powers that the US has, is that the world’s reserve currency and the petrodollar are based on USD.
Take those powers away and its’ knees start to buckle.

Thus, over the past several years — accelerating after 2008 — the contenders starting making their moves in the international trade arena.

China led the challenge by creating the strategy of establishing bi-lateral trade agreements based on the currencies of the two participating countries. This bypasses the long established system for international payment transactions that use SWIFT (Society of Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) which is transacted in USD.

The world bankers realize that the US is losing financial stability due to its’ current fiscal policies – or lack of thereof.

The past several years the international banking stakeholders have been looking for a way out of the future dilemma of a waning USD.
Desperately propping the dollar up will eventually reach diminishing proportions and the house of cards will start to fall.

Those in power, such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund) would like to establish/harmonize one international currency to transact world trade. The IMF has suggested using the SDR(special drawing rights) as that financial instrument.

However, I would be surprised if that happens as the world trade arena is changing.
I would change my opinion, if the world needed a major financial bailout.
Then the IMF might step-up and we will all end up being lifelong debtors.

Country bi-lateral and regional bi-lateral trade agreements are on the increase. Just announced this week, a bi-lateral trade agreement between Brazil and Uruguay.

Indications are out there, that this trend is here to stay. We are being accelerated into the “multi-polar” world of international trade that diminishes the use of the USD.

Recent economic sanctions placed on Russia, due to the situation in Ukraine, are going to strengthen the RCSP (Russia China Strategic Partnership). If you can get around the use of USD then the sanctions are less economically invasive.
In the near future, out of economic necessity, other nations might dock with the RCSP.

The possibility exists that anti-America and fickle allies will start to attack the petrodollar.
There is no reason why oil transactions have to be based in USD.
Saudi Arabia can change that with a flick of a camel’s eye.

If the US loses reserve and petrodollar status and the FED tries to pay off
government debt with inflation, then American citizens will enter the economic house-of-pain.

The events in the near future will be an indication of what path international traders will take.

In the future, will nation states prefer to trade in their own national currency or will the world of commerce still find it more convenient to use one currency for bank reserves and trading in oil ?— is China’s Renminbi to be the replacement?